Rom Com Dumb

A study out of Heriot Watt University (safety school!) in Edinburgh has determined that people who consider themselves fans of romantic comedies have unrealistic and potentially harmful views about relationships. Test subjects exposed to heartwarmingly hilarious films such as Runaway Bride, You've Got Mail, Maid in Manhattan, The Wedding Planner, Notting Hill (fun fact: Bob Teague, co-host of our very own Amateur Scientist Podcast, loves Notting Hill because he has a vagina), and just about anything starring Kate Hudson are much more likely to believe that communication shouldn't be necessary with the person you're "meant for" and that true romances have more to do with fate and destiny than getting a job, cutting that ridiculous bald man's ponytail, and learning to wash a dish from time to time. Personally, I blame Love Story for everything. Love doesn't, in fact, mean never having to say you're sorry. That's called being a sociopath. During the experiment, 100 volunteers were asked to watch the John Cusack schlock fest Serendipity, while another 100 watched a David Lynch movie. When surveyed, the former group had a stronger belief in predestined love, while the latter group were more open to the idea that setting up a video camera to record fourteen hours of Laura Dern melting crayons in a microwave could somehow be considered art. More details here.